


We Need to Be Reminded of the Obvious

by Mehi (orphan_account)



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Death, Comfort, Crying, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gen, Hopeful Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Kaede Gets Executed, Kaede's Execution, Kiibo Comforts Ouma, Kiibo and Ouma Survive, M/M, Multi, Platonic Cuddling, Reference To Maki's Death, Robot/Human Relationships, Self-Hatred
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-08
Updated: 2016-12-08
Packaged: 2018-09-07 07:31:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8789122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Mehi
Summary: Ouma punched the wall with all his strength in frustration and yelped in pain. Kiibo grabbed the bruised hand and massaged the injury soothingly. The SHSL Robot murmured, “I forgive you. The fact that you’re so upset about the bad things you’ve done means you have remorse and are not as bad as you think you are. You will learn from your mistakes and become a better person. That’s how humans and robots work. We learn in order to improve. I deeply regret not befriending you when I had the chance.” Ouma tried to yank his hand away from Kiibo, but the robot held it firmly, and the smaller boy didn’t have the will to fight the robot’s strength. “Please, we’re the only survivors left. When we leave the academy tomorrow, we need to stick together and have each other’s backs. Kaede and our classmates would want this. We need each other.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> Danganronpa needs more of the Kiibo and Ouma relationship.

Ever since the killing game started, classmates, friends, everyone died all around Kiibo. No matter how defiant they acted against the black and white mechanical bear, someone always gave into temptation and took the life of an innocent classmate. Kiibo thought the deaths of his beloved classmates was something he could get used to. Unfortunately, it was the opposite. Every death became more unbearable. The longer Kiibo lived with his classmates, the closer he got to them. Even though his heart was robotic, it still seemed to shatter after every death. Kaede’s murder of Maki was the last straw.

“No! Why!? You’re our leader! You despise this killing game more than anyone! That’s why you’ve made it this far! You would never kill anyone, no matter what!” Kiibo cried. The class trial for the murder of Maki was nearing an end, and it was by far the easiest case to solve. Kaede confessed to the crime and was unquestionably the only person who could have done it. “You said we will find an escape without resorting to murder!”

“We can’t though! I’m sorry. We’ve tried everything! The greatest number of people who can escape this prison is two. This killing game was down to four people, so Maki and I agreed to set up a murder so that you and Ouma can escape and no longer suffer here anymore,” Kaede tearfully explained. She was right. Of course she was. She wouldn’t go to these extremes if she wasn’t. After Maki's murder, the killing game was now down to three people: Kiibo, Kaede, and Ouma. Unless the murder was suicide, no matter what the outcome, the killing game would be over. Monokuma’s rules stated if the innocent continued to win the trials until there was only two participants, then those two participants would be allowed to leave the prison.

From the looks of things, Kaede was going to be executed as the blackened, and then Kiibo and Ouma would be allowed to escape. The robot wasn’t going to let that happen so easily though. He shook with erratic emotion as he yelled, “No! We have to keep talking about this! Like you’ve always said, we have to keep talking until we’re sure we’ve got the right killer!”

 “Kiibo, if you think there’s someone else who could be the blackened then prove it. Our lives are on the line here,” Ouma told the robot darkly. His expression was unreadable as he stared at the ground with his fists clenched.

 “You….” Kiibo desperately pointed at Ouma. “From the very beginning, you’ve always threatened to kill someone. You’re evil! You’ve made it no secret! You have killing intent! You are more of killer than Kaede ever was!”

 “I can’t deny that,” Ouma remarked, with a forced chuckled. His jaw tightened, but he still didn’t give away any serious emotions. Kiibo sensed Ouma was actively hiding his true feelings on the situation, yet the robot didn’t know what that was. Ouma was always a pretender. Nobody knew who he really was. Ouma probably didn’t even know who Ouma was. The SHSL Leader calling himself a liar was very fitting. It was just too simple to believe he was nothing but a bad person, especially since the small boy never came close to killing or seriously hurting anyone, no matter how much he boasted about hurting a countless number of people.

 “Kiibo, I know Ouma has said in the past he would kill any of us, but he has never put those words to action. There’s no evidence he poisoned Maki. The murder is all on video. There’s no doubt I killed her. We planned it from the very beginning.” Kaede softly explained, her body quivering as tears fell on her face. It pained Kiibo to see one of his closest friends break like this. He longed to vote for himself or Ouma to be the blackened just so Kaede could escape, yet the proof was undeniable. Maki and Kaede made sure of it. The two girls set up a video camera made by Iruma in the cafeteria and videotaped Kaede poisoning Maki very clearly. The two girls also had Ouma bear witness to the whole ordeal. Ouma’s and Kaede’s votes were enough to convict the pianist.

 Kiibo wasn’t giving up though. The robot shouted, “Then vote for me or Ouma as the blackened! I’ll vote with you so that you can escape!”

 “Kiibo! No! That’s not what Maki and I intended! We planned this murder so that you and Ouma can escape! Maki doesn’t want this, and I don’t either! I love you and Ouma, and I want both of you to escape!” Kaede was nearly sobbing now. “I’m voting for myself, and you should do the same!”

 From the corner of Kiibo’s eye, he could see Ouma glaring at him. His face was still unreadable. It wouldn’t surprise the robot if Ouma was secretly an emotionally stunted cyborg. The leader spoke in a monotone voice, “You do realize you’re asking to die, right? Is that what you want?”

 “But of course! In the grand scheme of things, I don’t mean anything. I’m just a robot after all. Just a machine,” the lie that came out of Kiibo’s lips stung, but he was willing to try anything to save Kaede.

 Ouma’s glare at Kiibo softened. The robot could’ve sworn sadness hid behind those eyes. Ouma then sighed tiredly before rightfully saying, “That’s the most blatant lie I’ve ever heard. Everybody and their mother knows you believe robots are as valuable as humans. You’ve always thought you mattered as much as anyone else. You’re just downplaying your worth now so Kaede can be free.”

 “I'm positive not everyone's mother knows who I am or even my thoughts on this! Plus, Kaede deserves to live! She’s an amazing person who does nothing but good things! She’ll help so many people when she escapes!” Kiibo declared. He was now visibly shaking. Kaede was sobbing and hiccupping so intensely that she couldn’t speak.

 Ouma stared at the robot in disbelief before laughing, “Wow! What are you saying Kiibo?! What are you saying?! Kaede’s great! Kaede's amazing! She’s Buddha! She’s a deity! Too pure to die! Am I right?!” His laugh gradually grew louder and hysterical. For a second, Kiibo thought the SHSL Leader was having some sort of villainous breakdown. His next words then explained the situation, “What about us Kiibo?! Do we matter?! You’re so willing to throw away our lives like we’re pieces of garbage! Is that what we are?! Garbage?! You, the useless piece of metal that nobody gives a damn about, and me, the toxic scum who does nothing but hurt others! Is that what we are?! Do we deserve to get executed!?” His words trembled with laughter, but they rang distinctly. Ouma’s eyes watered, and if he weren’t laughing, Kiibo would have thought he was crying; maybe he was. The dark haired boy continued with his voice and laughter becoming hoarser and quieter, “Okay, I get it. It’s your life, so you can sacrifice it on Kaede if you like. I just find it amazing you can so easily throw my life away as well. You don’t give a damn about me, and maybe you’re right not to…”

 “No Ouma, please don’t say that. You agreed to vote against me, remember?” Kaede sobbed. “I told you that you matter, that you’re my friend!”

 “You told everyone that, indiscriminately. You’re an angel. You even told me, one of the most horrible people on the planet, someone who has tortured and killed so many people, that you cared about me. If anyone deserves to die….it’s me.” This time, Ouma was clearly crying. He was hiccupping and coughing while still uncontrollably laughing. The shell he wore was broken. He reminded Kiibo of a distressed child. In that moment, he looked more innocent and younger than the robot had ever seen him. Even though Kiibo was never close to the SHSL Leader, he deeply regretted blindly trading Ouma’s life for Kaede’s. Unfortunately, if the robot spoke up now, Ouma most likely wouldn’t accept his pity.

 Ouma whispered so quietly that Kiibo and Kaede could barely hear him, even with their impeccable hearing, “I saw Maki get poisoned, and I did nothing to stop it.” He gave his attention to Kiibo, with teary, red eyes and made clear, “I’m going to respect Kaede’s wishes and vote to execute her. I may deserve thousands of painful deaths, but you’re innocent, and your life matters just as much as anyone else’s.”

 Kiibo gaped at him in silence, and Kaede smiled sadly. She said, “Thank you, Ouma, but you’re not-”

 “Shut up! I don’t want to hear your disgusting pity!” Ouma screamed wildly, his hands covering his ears, catching Kiibo and Kaede off guard. “Monokuma! You know what’s up! Let’s just get this voting over already!”

 Everything was a blur after that. Kiibo felt so much unbearable grief that he became numb. His durable robotic body could break due to all this unruly emotion. Kaede begged him and Ouma not to watch her execution. She wanted their last memory of her to not be her painful, theatric death. The robot gladly respected her wishes and shut his eyes to the execution. Unfortunately, her agonizing screams and Ouma’s mournful wails stuck with him. A part of him wanted to jump in and try to save Kaede, but he knew it’d be futile. Even if he somehow did save Kaede, Monokuma would find some way to execute her anyway. There was one person Kiibo could save though. Someone who Kiibo never thought needed the robot but evidently did, especially after Kaede died.

 “I’m tired Kiibo. Why are you following me?” Ouma whined, his voice rasped from his chaotic emotions from the class trial earlier. The two boys were in the dark hallway of the Gifted Inmates Academy hotel. They stood in front of Ouma’s room while the shorter boy fumbled with his room key.

 “I came to give an official apology,” Kiibo stated with his chest up and his hands on his hips. “You didn’t deserve the cruel, inhumane treatment during the last class trial.”

 After finally opening the door, the shorter boy rolled his eyes at the robot and rasped, “Don’t apologize. I don’t deserve it. Your mistreatment to me during the trial doesn’t hold a candle to the mistreatment I gave you since we first met.” His voice quivered, and it sounded like he would burst into tears again. “Damn it! What kind of leader am I?! I’ve cried way too much today! I can’t again!”

 Ouma punched the wall with all his strength in frustration and yelped in pain. Kiibo grabbed the bruised hand and massaged the injury soothingly. The SHSL Robot murmured, “I forgive you. The fact that you’re so upset about the bad things you’ve done means you have remorse and are not as bad as you think you are. You will learn from your mistakes and become a better person. That’s how humans and robots work. We learn in order to improve. I regret not befriending you when I had the chance.” Ouma tried to yank his hand away from Kiibo, but the robot held it firmly, and the smaller boy didn’t have the will to fight the robot’s strength. “Please, we’re the only survivors left. When we leave the academy tomorrow, we need to stick together and have each other’s backs. Kaede and our classmates would want this. We need each other.”

 Ouma’s gaze didn’t meet Kiibo’s, and his body sagged while still standing. For a second, the robot thought the SHSL leader was in a catatonic state but then quickly realized that wasn’t the case. His cold metal hand rubbed more soothing circles on the warm skin of Ouma’s hand, and the robot murmured, “It’s okay to cry. Leader or not, you’re human, and humans cry when they’re sad.”

“Thanks for the reminder Captain Obvious,” Ouma croaked with a tiny smile on his face.

 Kiibo beamed at the happier emotion on the shorter boy’s face before replying, “You’re welcome. We need to be reminded of the obvious from time to time.”

 “I was being sarcastic, you moron,” Ouma grumbled, but he seemed less sorrowful than before. His youthful face and watery eyes watched Kiibo’s dull metallic blue eyes. “I guess you have a point though. The world could use someone like you to remind us of the obvious. I never got a proper childhood, so I never learned some of the obvious things in life….”

 His youthful voice drifted off gloomily, and he got lost in Kiibo’s gaze. With the need to comfort the smaller boy, Kiibo pulled him into a tight, patted his black hair with one hand, and murmured in his ear, “Don’t worry, I am always hear to teach you the obvious things in life.”

 Ouma half-laughed and half-sobbed into the robot’s shoulder before pulling away and grabbing the robots hand. He tugged Kiibo into his room, and stopped in front of his bed. The SHSL Leader bashfully glanced at the robot and mumbled while sniffling, “Ummmm…I know this request is inappropriate…since we’re too old for this….but could you…ummmm….Well….You know how little kids sometimes sleep in their parents bed for comfort?”

 “Oh! Yes, I’ll cuddle with you! I’ve never experienced cuddling, and I’d love to help you in anyway I can!” Kiibo responded enthusiastically. He then threw a bewildered Ouma onto the bed and dived in with him. He curled his metallic body around the smaller boy and pulled the sheets over them.

 “Erm…thanks?” Ouma answered. He then reached around Kiibo to pull him closer and laid his head on the robot’s chest. Kiibo wrapped an arm around Ouma’s shoulders and pulled the boy to his chest, burying his face into the smaller boy’s dark hair. The situation was more comfortable than either boy expected. Ouma pressed his face into Kiibo’s shoulder and listened to his robotic heartbeat. For the first time in a while, they felt protected and satisfied. The cruel world couldn’t damage them. Kiibo felt tears on his shoulder, and Ouma whimpered to the robot, “Please, don’t leave me.”

“I won’t,” Kiibo vowed, petting the weeping boy's head. “We’ll protect each other. For once, we’ll be safe and happy.”  

Ouma was no stranger to crying himself to sleep, and that night was no exception. Fortunately, he had someone whispering calming words to him and holding him to squeeze the distress away. Even with all the tragedy and heartache, the two boys felt content and needed.


End file.
